Over the past two years I have been fortunate enough to have worked with dozens of bloggers and individual experts who are running money making websites.

Some of these bloggers have become very successful, running sites that generate revenues well into six figures……. and some even more.  

By observing these individuals at work I have learned a lot of lessons about what works and what doesn’t, what makes a profitable blog, and why people fail.

Here are the top 10 characteristics, which I believe, are common across the best-of-the-best in the blogging world.


They are:

1) They are Passionate About Their Subject

Without exception the leading bloggers are passionate about their subject. Some of them have turned their hobby into their business. Others are using experience and expertise they have gained during their career.


2) They Focus on Becoming Number One in Their Niche

The top bloggers research their competitors before launch and plan from the outset to become number one in their niche.


3) They Create Authority in their Niche

In order to become number one they have to establish themselves as experts in their sector. They do this in two ways. First, by ensuring that the content on their site is consistently good. Some sites have multiple contributors, but all the content is edited before being published.


4) They Participate in Their Broader Community

The second way they create authority is by being active members of their online community. They seek out the important forums and blogs in their niche and regularly add insightful comments. However they tend to also be very disciplined about the amount of time they spend on these sites, ensuring they don’t waste their day.


5) Their Marketing is Focused on Building Inbound Links

One of the reasons they are active in their community is to build inbound links. They understand the importance of proactively creating links to their site and allocate time to link building. For those new to internet marketing, inbound links bring traffic directly to a website, whilst also improving the page ranking.


6) They are Determined

The top bloggers all have dogged determination. They are not looking for overnight riches, but are determined to end up wealthy. Many of them have been through periods of disappointment and self doubt, but none of them gave up.


7) They Make Money from Multiple Revenue Streams

All of these successful web businesses have multiple revenue streams. These include advertising and affiliate marketing; an online store selling ebooks, tools, DVD’s etc; subscription to premium content; and the promotion of offline events, including webinars, tele-seminars, workshops, etc.


8) They Outsource Non-Essential Activities

They know how valuable their time is, so they offload as many non-essential tasks as possible. This includes the technical management of their website, bookkeeping, etc. Some of this can be done at the outset (for example using a service like SubHub www.subhub.com). Some services, like bookkeeping, can be added once money is coming in.


9) They Manage Their Websites Like a Business

It is easy to lose track of costs and revenues when building a website business. Most (but not all!) of the top earners make sure they track their costs and revenues and regularly review how they are doing and set themselves goals for improving.


10) They Test, Test, Test

The leaders are continually testing all aspects of their website. Which articles are read most frequently? Which attract the most links? Which ads make the most money? etc. Testing leads to continual improvement. Continual improvement leads to more money.


And finally ……


11) They Reward Themselves for Success

The top bloggers reward themselves when they do well. They have great holidays. They spend time with their families. They ensure their work space is a great place to spend time. They upgrade their homes.

And most importantly they love what they are doing.


Conclusion

Those seeking a way to get-rich-quick will be disappointed by these observations. In fact they probably will not have got as far as the conclusion!

But those people who are determined to succeed online should be encouraged and fired up.

Most of the successful bloggers that I have worked with are ordinary guys and girls who have reaped the rewards for their hard work. I know if I asked them the question “can anyone who is prepared to put in the effort run a profitable content business?”, the unanimous answer would be ‘YES’.

So if you have a passion and are prepared to work hard to succeed, there is probably no better job in the world than being a niche website owner.